Readers may remember that in the October 1986 Interim there as a report of a court case in Australia in which a ‘courageous and just judge’ refused to allow a baby with spina bifida to be starved and sedated to death. Supreme Court Mr. Justice Vincent said: “No parent, no doctor, no court has any power to determine that the life of any child, however disabled, will be deliberately taken from them. I want that proposition clearly understood by all. The law does not permit decisions to be made concerning the quality of life, nor any assessment as to the value of any human beings.”
The latest news from Australia is that the baby is happy and smiling and, despite physical disability, is busy crawling all over the place.
